Established in 2006, the Keystone State Education Coalition is a growing grass roots, non-partisan public education advocacy group of several hundred locally elected, volunteer school board members and administrators from school districts throughout Pennsylvania. Our mission is to evaluate, discuss and inform our boards, district constituents and legislators on legislative issues of common interest and to facilitate active engagement in public education advocacy.

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Thursday, June 16, 2011

New Voucher Bill to be introduced in the PA House

HB 1326, which would remove all Act 1 exceptions, remains at the top of the House calendar as they are scheduled to reconvene at 11:00 a.m. this morning.

The House Education Committee is now scheduled to meet on Monday June 20th at 12:00 p.m. to consider SB 612, which would allow furloughs for economic reasons (FYI, the House also has its own version of a furlough bill, HB 855). It is our understanding that more than 30 amendments have been filed for bill.

There's new movement on school vouchers – but this time, it's coming from the House, not the Senate. Republican Jim Christiana has distributed a co-sponsorship memo for legislation creating a more targeted version of Senate Bill 1, which, until now, has been the only vouchers bill in front of the General Assembly.

Early Returns at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 15
JUNE 2011 17:26, WRITTEN
BY LAURA OLSON

With state lawmakers have kicked budget
negotiations into high-gear (now that both chambers are run by the GOP, like
the gov's office, the only word on those talks is "they're going
fine"), there may be another issue beyond a shale tax/fee aiming to get shoehorned
into that budget package.

School districts are scrambling to pare budgets in response to the proposed billion-dollar cut in state funding

Thursday, June 16, 2011 By Mary Niederberger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There will be larger class sizes and fewer middle and elementary school foreign language classes, high school business and consumer science courses and elementary music programs throughout the region if the preliminary budgets approved by school boards in the wake of proposed state budget cuts become final.

EDITORIAL: Will Kirkland's theatrics pay off for ailing schools?

Delco Times Op/Ed Published: Thursday, June 16, 2011

You have to admire Thaddeus Kirkland's flair.The Democratic state rep who represents the city of Chester and the towns that make up the Chester Upland School District decided to hold a press conference to bemoan the $20 million state funding cut the district is facing.Only he didn't hold it in Chester. Or Upland. Or Chester Township. He held it outside Springfield High School. Touche, Representative.Kirkland vowed that if the draconian cuts in the state budget hold up, and the bulk of the money is not restored, he will head into court to sue the state and shut down the district's three high schools. Oh, and those 2,700 students suddenly without school? They would be free to attend another high school in the county.

SPENCER: Thad and Gil's high school adventure

Delco Times Commentary Published: Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Dear Thaddeus:It's been a while since we talked, but after reading about your performance in front of Springfield High School I just had to drop you a line.I must say your threat to unleash the entire school-age population of Chester on neighboring communities was a brilliant bit of political theater. It certainly got people's attention.Restore at least $15 million of the $20 million in proposed state cuts to the Chester Upland school district ... or else.

About Me

Mark Twain: "God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board."
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School Director, School District of Haverford Township, since 1999;
Chairman, Delaware County School Boards Legislative Council;
Founder and Co-Chair, Southeastern Pennsylvania School Districts’ Education Coalition/Keystone State Education Coalition, Board of Directors, PA School Boards Assocation
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